With the college football world dealing with the news regarding coaching changes, former Dallas Renegades head coach Bob Stoops finds himself back on the sidelines.
Bruce Feldman reported Sunday afternoon that Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley is leaving the school to take the USC Trojans job.
Former Oklahoma and Dallas Renegades head coach Bob Stoops was named the interim head coach for the school’s upcoming bowl game. The Athletic reported that Stoops was in the room with Riley when he broke the news to the team.
Stoops has a long history with the Sooners as he was the head coach for the team from 1999 until 2016. During that tenure, he recorded a 190-48 record with ten conference titles and a 2000 national title. He announced his retirement from coaching in 2017 where Riley took over the job.
After a year and a half of retirement, Stoops decided to return to the sidelines for the XFL. In February of 2019, he was named the general manager and head coach of the Dallas Renegades. Despite the hype around the team for the 2020 season, the Renegades got off to a slow start with a 2-3 record. After the XFL closed operations during the 2020 season, he joined Fox Sports as a studio analyst for their Saturday college football pre-game show.
Stoops hasn’t been a stranger on the Oklahoma campus as he has been a special assistant on a part-time basis since 2017. He’s been a part of much speculation the past year and a half with rumors of returning to coaching in college with jobs like LSU and Florida opening up. There is no word on whether this will mean a permanent return to coaching, but Stoops released a statement showing commitment to helping the team finish the season on the right note.
“First and foremost, I’m a program guy and whatever I can do to help OU and to support the players, of course I’m glad to do it. I’ll do everything I can to help them finish the season strong and successful way and I look forward to that.”
Bob Stoops, Interim Head Coach for Oklahoma
Oklahoma will find out their bowl game fate next week after the college football regular season officially ends.
As for what this means for his future with the XFL, the old ball coach seems to be more focused on the college game as of right now. A return is always possible, but Renegade fans shouldn’t hold their breath on Stoops returning for 2023. XFL fans should find out more in the future on who will be coaching their teams.
